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WAYLANDBAPTISTUNIVERSITY
VIRTUAL CAMPUS
SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS
SUMMER SEMESTER
Course Instructor: Steve Furlich, Ph.D.
Course Title: Public Speaking
COMS 2303 VC 01
Class Time: 24 hours/ 7Days a week
E-Mail:
Office Hours: Hours: On-Line through e-mail.
Prerequisites: None
WBU Help Desk: or send an email to
WaylandBaptistUniversity Mission statement: WaylandBaptistUniversity exists to educate students in an academically challenging learning-focused and distinctively Christian environment for professional success, lifelong learning, and service to God and humankind.
Disability statement: It is university policy that no otherwise qualified disabled person be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity in the university. Students should inform the instructor of existing disabilities the first class meeting.
Catalog description: Theories and related skills for planning, organizing, rehearsing, presenting and evaluating a variety of types of speeches. Includes a survey of rhetorical traditions, principles, and strategies used in informative, persuasive, and ceremonial speeches. Emphasis on student performance and evaluation of oral and written models of classical and contemporary speeches. Recommended for students pursuing careers in teaching, law, the ministry, politics, or other professions involving making public presentations. May be taken to meet the general education communication requirement.
Required textbook and resource materials: O’Hair, D. & Stewart, R. & Rubenstein, H. (2014). (6th ed.) A Speaker’s Guidebook. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins.
"Having knowledge but lacking the power to clearly express it is no better than never having any ideas at all." Pericles
Course outcome competencies:
Learning Outcomes: This course explores theory and principles of effective public speaking while providing an emphasis on skills development. Specific attention is given to the preparation, delivery, and evaluation of public speeches. General student learning outcomes include the following:
1. Students will understand theory and practice in public speaking.
2. Students will learn and develop various fundamentals and tools of effective speech delivery.
3. Students will be able to critically analyze the content, organization, and delivery of their own speeches
and the speeches of others.
4.Students will become competent and confident public speakers.
5.Students will synergize theories and principles of communication into the successful preparation and delivery.
*All Speeches MUST be submitted Electronically.
*Note: All speeches must be video recorded so that the speaker can be seen delivering their speech along with sound. Audio recorded only speeches will not be accepted. Saving speeches in .MPEG format is an acceptable format. Please have your last name and section number in the title of all documents submitted. Please do not have more than one . in the title of your file. Students will submit each speech through email. Email in one WORD attachment with your speech link on top, outline, and reference page on the bottom to If the first electronic means of saving does not work then students must try these other formats. Students refusing to try these other formats will not receive a grade for that speech.
Students MUST have an e-mail address registered with blackboard that receives e-mails. Students in past semesters were unable to receive e-mails through blackboard due to their military e-mail address. STUDENTS MUST SIGN INTO THEIR WBU E-MAIL ADDRESSES ONCE EVERY 72 HOURS. STUDENTS SHOULD ALSO CHECK THEIR INBOX IN BLACKBOARD FOR THIS CLASS REGULARLY. The inbox for this class is located when you click on this class, click on communication on the left side, and click on messages on the right side of the column.
Students MUST have access to the INTERNET.
Course Assignments/Assessments: The School of Fine Arts supports university policies of academic excellence as noted in the student handbook. Interpretation of grades should be considered within the university framework: A=excellent, B=good; C=average; D=inferior; and F=failure. Final grades in this course will be based on:
A=100-90, B=89-80, C=79-70, D=69-60, F=59 and Below
Please Label All Submitted Assignments with your Name, Section, & Speech Assignment Number. Examples: Smith, 2303 VC01 Speech 2 or Smith, 2303 VC02 Speech 1. Please also use these labels in e-mails, such as in subject lines.
Assignments:Speeches will be submitted electronically and must be received by 5:00 P.M. Central Friday the week it is assigned. This includes outlines and references. Please do not send an e-mail asking if your speech was received until at least 1 week after it is due. Answering e-mails about receiving the speech slows down the process of grading speeches.An e-mail from the Instructor to ALL students will be sent AFTER ALL speeches have been graded to notify the class that speech grades have been posted.
Presentations- (30%)Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, and the class textbook will not count as part of your three sources. Your sources must either come from a book or journal.
EXTRA CREDIT (5%) for submitting your speech at least 1 week before it’s due.
15% Presentation 1: Informative - Emphasis on delivery, content and structure with 3 sources.
15% Presentation 2: Persuasive –Emphasis on delivery, content, and structure, with
3 sources.
Speech Topics Must Be Appropriate For WaylandBaptistUniversity
Presentation 1: Each student will deliver an informative speech of 4:30-5:30 minutes about a particular topic. The purpose is to inform the audience and not persuade them. The presentation will consist of gathering at least 3 credible outside sources for your presentation, such as journal articles or credible books to be cited during your presentation. Your presentation topic should expand beyond what is covered in class with the sources you cite. Each student will turn in an outline and a reference page of sources. Points will be deducted for not abiding to the time limit.
Presentation 2: Each student will deliver a persuasive speech of 4:30-5:30 minutes about a particular topic. The purpose is to persuade the audience to accept the speaker’s ideas about a particular issue. It is imperative for the speaker to demonstrate why his or her side of an issue is superior to the opposing one. The presentation will consist of gathering at least 3 credible outside sources for your presentation, such as journal articles or credible books to be cited during your presentation. Your presentation should expand beyond what is covered in class with your sources. Each student will turn in an outline and a reference page of sources. Points will be deducted for not abiding to the time limit.
Tests- (55%) Students must take the tests without any assistance from other people. They may use their textbooks and notes but the tests will be timed. Academic integrity is described in the student handbook for WaylandBaptistUniversity. Failure to abide by the rules outline may result in failing the class. If a week has both a test and discussion in that week, the discussion will not be part of that test but will be covered on the next test. Due to multiple sections of this class taking similar tests, test answers will not be given after the test as to correct and incorrect answers. The students’ scores will be the feedback that they receive concerning their test performance.Students preparing for tests should study how concepts are related to each other, how they differ, and come up with personal examples of the concepts. The test questions are usually not straight forward definitions but often give an example and ask the student which concept the example best represents.
18% Test 1
18% Test 2
19% Test 3
Discussion- (10%)
All discussions are finished by the Friday of the week they are assigned at 5:00 PM Central Time. A list of questions is given at the end of the syllabus for each section. The first student to post a comment or question for a section should consider addressing one of these questions. Students are required to post 2 questions and respond to 2 other questions that are posted each week. Students need to come up with their own original questions to post and not re-post previous questions from other students or the syllabus. Likewise, students need to refrain from answering the same questions other students previously fully answered. Some repetition is acceptable if it helps to develop the ideas and concepts. The objective is to expand and apply the course material. Students cannot post questions or comments for any section except the present one. Hence, you need to stay on top of your participation for each section. It is helpful in viewing in Blackboard for students begin a new post with each of their original questions they post rather than connected to a previous comment or posting more than one question together.
Peer-Evaluation- (5%)
For both speeches students will watch another student’s speech and write an evaluation about their speech. The evaluation can be 3 things they did well and 3 things that they should improve upon. The written format can be informal such as numbered or bulleted. Each student will upload their speech to be evaluated in the Group Section area in Blackboard Labeled Peer Evaluation 1 for Speech 1 and Peer Evaluation 2 for Speech 2. The group Section area is found in Course Tools. Each student should evaluate the one speech that is directly above their speech that they upload. Each student MUST evaluate a speech that is not already evaluated by another student unless there is an odd number of students and all others have already been evaluated. Therefore, it is up to each student to find another student’s speech in the class and evaluate their speech if someone else has not already evaluated it.Please email your peer evaluation to and to the student who gave the speech.
Course Procedures
Assignments - Assignments must be completed on time. Late work will result in loss of points. Academic integrity is expected on all course assignments and activities. Violations of academic integrity (e.g., plagiarism, cheating, etc.) are serious offenses and will be dealt with according to university policy.
Make-Up Assignments and Examinations - If you miss an exam or presentation it must be for one of the following types of documentable reasons: death in the family, severe personal illness, university sponsored activities, etc. If you have an unexcused absence during a week you are scheduled to make a presentation or take a test, you cannot make up that presentation or test. Additionally, because of time constraints, the instructor may elect not to grant make-up speeches for any reason. In order to take a make-up examination you must submit verifiable and official documentation to your instructor (e.g., a doctor’s note for the specific day missed). If your request is approved, you may take a make-up test on the appointed day. All make-up exams must be given for qualified persons within 2 weeks of the missed test.
Assignments are due by Friday 5:00 P.M. Central on the Friday of each week.
Please note that this is a tentative schedule for topics that will be explored this semester.
Slight changes may be made as the semester progresses.
May 29-Aug. 12
Weekly Schedule
Week 1 –May 29- Read Syllabus, Read Chapters 1, 2, 6, 7, 23 and Post Comments
(1. Becoming a Public Speaker, 2. Giving It a Try: Preparing Your First Speech, 6. Analyzing the Audience, 7. Selecting a Topic and Purpose, 23. The Informative Speech, History of Public Speaking, Intercultural).
Week 2 –June 5- Read Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and Post Comments
(11. Organizing the Body of the Speech, 12. Types of Organizational Arrangements, 13. Outlining the Speech, 14. Developing the Introduction, 15. Developing the Conclusion, 16. Using Language to Style the Speech).
Week 3 –June 12- Test I (Ch. 1, 2, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 23, History of Public Speaking, Intercultural), Electronically Submit Speech I
Week 4 –June 19- Read Chapters 8, 9, 10, 20, 21 and Post Comments
(8. Developing Supporting Materials, 20. Using Presentation Aids in the Speech, 21. Designing Presentation Aids, 9. Finding Credible Print and Online Materials, 10. Citing Sources in Your Speech, Personal and Social Media), Nonverbal
Week 5 –June 26- Read Chapters 17, 19, 3, 4 and Post Comments
(3. Managing Speech Anxiety, 4. Listeners and Speakers, 17. Methods of Delivery, 19. The Body in Delivery), Identity
Week 6- July 3- Peer Evaluations Due for Sp. 1, Test II (Ch. 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 17, 19, 20, 21, Personal & Social Media, Nonverbal, Identity, Also, Read Chapters 12, 5 and
Post Comments
12. Types of Organizational Arrangements (Organizational Patterns), 5. Ethical Public Speaking
Week 7–July 10- Read Chapters 18, 19, 25, 26 and Post Comments
18. The Voice in Delivery, 19 The Body in Delivery, 25. Developing Arguments for the Persuasive Speech, 26. Organizing the Persuasive Speech
Week 8–July 17- Read Chapters 20, 21, 22, 24, 27 and Post Comments
20. Using presentation aids in the speech, 21. Developing presentation aids, 22. Using Presentation Software, 24. The Persuasive Speech,27. Special Occasion Speeches, Watch Persuasion Speeches, Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
Week 9 – July 24- Electronically SubmitSpeech II
Week 10 –July 31- Peer Evaluations Due for Sp. 2, Read Chapters 28, 29, 30, 31
and Post Comments
28. Preparing Online Presentations, 29. Collaborating and Presenting in Groups, Groups additional30. Business and Professional Presentations, 31. Speaking in Your Other Courses
Week 11 –Aug. 7-Test III (Ch. 5, 12, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, Org. Patterns, Monroe’s Motivated Sequence, Groups Additional)
Starting Questions for Each Section
Week 1- May 29- Why study public speaking? What is the importance of audience analysis?
Week 2- June 5- How does one choose the appropriate method to gather information about the audience? Why has the same outline format been used for many years? Can it be improved?
Week 3- March June 12- Test I; Electronically Submit Speech I
Week 4- June 19-Have speakers relied too much on visual aids in their speeches with today’s technology? Should the President use a teleprompter when delivering a speech written by speech writers?
Week 5- June 26-Why are most people fearful of public speaking, is it biological or situational? Is the internet a reliable source?Is listening a natural human skill? Why are people today poor listeners?How should a speaker choose which method of delivery to use? Should nonverbal behaviors be practiced in a speech or should they come natural?
Week 6- July 3-Peer Evaluations Due for Sp. 1, TEST II; Who should be held responsible for audience members who misbehave after a speech and say that the speaker told them to misbehave? Should the speaker be held responsible or the audience member? Why have audience members followed bad leaders such as Hitler?
Week 7- July 10-What are some ways to identify with an audience? How much can a speaker change a speech of the same topic to different audiences without being insincere?
Week 8- July 17- Is it ethical to change one’s persuasive appeals to different audiences? Is all communication persuasive (making claims and supporting them)? Is the use of emotional appeals the most powerful persuasive tactic? Why is Monroe’s Motivated Sequence so powerful?
Week 9-July 24-Electronically SubmitSpeech II
Week 10- July 31-Peer Evaluations Due for Sp. 2, Why do organizations use groups for presentations? Can a group be less effective than the same individuals working independently? How do online speeches change perception dynamics differently from face to face?
Week 11- Aug. 7-Test III